Now There’s A Tape
Yesterday, CNN reported that “Federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, multiple sources told CNN, undercutting his argument that he declassified everything. The recording indicates Trump understood he retained classified material after leaving the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. On the recording, Trump’s comments suggest he would like to share the information but he’s aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records, two of the sources said.”
The tape is of a long meeting in July 2021 at Bedminster and the discussion of Iran is around two minutes. Special counsel Jack Smith has the tape and, according to CNN, “has focused on the meeting as part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of national security secrets. Sources describe the recording as an ‘important’ piece of evidence in a possible case against Trump, who has repeatedly asserted he could retain presidential records and ‘automatically’ declassify documents… The episode has generated enough interest for investigators to have questioned [former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] Gen. Mark Milley, one of the highest-ranking Trump-era national security officials, about the incident.” There were several people at the meeting who did not have security clearances.
The meeting in which Trump discussed the Iran document with others happened shortly after the New Yorker published a story by Susan Glasser detailing how, in the final days of Trump’s presidency, Milley instructed the Joint Chiefs to ensure Trump issued no illegal orders and that he be informed if there was any concern. The story infuriated Trump.
Glasser reported that in the months following the election, Milley repeatedly argued against striking Iran and was concerned Trump “might set in motion a full-scale conflict that was not justified.” Milley and others talked Trump out of taking such a drastic action, according to the New Yorker story.
On the recording and in response to the story, Trump brings up the document, which he says came from Milley. Trump told those in the room that if he could show it to people, it would undermine what Milley was saying, the sources said. One source says Trump refers to the document as if it is in front of him.
Several sources say the recording captures the sound of paper rustling, as if Trump was waving the document around, though is not clear if it was the actual Iran document. There’s also laughter in the room that’s captured on the recording.
The meeting took place well before Trump’s team shipped 15 boxes of presidential records and classified documents back to the National Archives and Records Administration in January 2022 after months of back-and-forth between his team and the records agency.